Homeless
by tiannabelladonna
Summary: In an alternate universe where Rose Tyler is homeless, the Doctor stumbles into her and takes her on adventures she could never imagine.
1. A Charming Stranger

**Chapter 1**

The cold London air stings my face like a malicious nest of bees. Attempting to protect myself from the chilly wind, I wrap my scarf tighter around my face. It is the only scarf I have. Actually, to be honest, it's one of the only pieces of garment I own at all. You see, I'm not very well off, and, you know, people these days aren't exceptionally generous to the homeless. I treasure my scarf. It's the only keepsake I have of my late mother, Jackie Tyler. 2013 was a _devastating_ year for me. My mum died of cancer, I lost my job, and I was evicted from my home. Now here I am, sitting on the sidewalk by the newsstand in an old fold-up chair. Yeah, sure, my life isn't exactly what most people would call easy.

I check my watch and see that it just struck 11 p.m. There's only one hour left in 2013. Isn't that something? Seems like the year just started yesterday!

A low rumble fills my ears. That would be the rumbling of my hungry stomach. It's time to see what food awaits me in the cart. My shopping cart (which I smuggled out of the local grocery store, thank you very much) is pretty full by now. All my belongings are in that dear thing. I have quite a relationship with that cart; I named him Mickey. Dry, uncombed blond hair wisps through my eyes as I scavenge through the cart. Eventually, I find a small pack of peanuts, pretzels, peppermints, two apples, four cans of soup, four bottles of water, and a full box of crackers. That should be enough to last me a couple of days, I suppose. I devour a whole pack of crackers, yet I'm still not content, but I force myself to stop eating; I don't have enough food to last me long.

I have a little cardboard sign lying against the chair I'm sitting in. It reads: LOST JOB AND HOUSE. ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED. GOD BLESS. That, my friend, is my only source of hope. Every day I sit in a different spot with my chair and Mickey and just pray that a kind stranger would have the heart give me a few pounds.

Patiently, I watch the cars as they stop at a red light just across from me. Here and there, I get a friendly wave or two from someone, but never any money. Of course, I smile and wave back, but I have no idea why I do that. I'm not happy at all, and my life is a miserable mess. Gently, I pull up my sleeve an inch to look at the cuts on my wrist. It reminds me of who I am.

The minutes tick by, and suddenly, a straggly old man (I presume he's homeless like me) with overgrown and unhygienic facial hair snatches the cans of soup out of Mickey and makes a run for it. I jump up. "Oi!" I yell at him as he dashes away. "Get back here!" I sprint towards him. He turns a corner, and I follow. Down this alley, down that alley. Soon enough I lose him. And my soup. Depressed, I trace back my path to Mickey. A man is sitting in my seat.

When I see him, I gasp, but he puts up his hands in surrender and says, "Now now, it's perfectly okay. I was just protecting your cart while you chased after that rude hobo." He gets up out of my seat and gestures for me to sit down.

For some unknown reason, I cannot take my eyes off the man. Is it his insanely thin figure? Is it his charming accent? Is it his _really good _hair?

I must've been staring at him for quite some time without knowing it, because he blatantly clears his throat, obviously getting my attention again. "Right! Yes, sorry…" I apologize as my cheeks temperature rocket sky high.

"Perfectly fine, madam!" he answers politely (how could someone be so slick?!) "I'm the Doctor. What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Ron- I MEAN… Rose." I cannot believe how _stupid _I'm sounding right now!

"Nice to meet you, Rose! It's pretty bitter out here. Aren't you cold?"

"Oh, yes sir; I'm freezing." (Finally something that doesn't sound like it came from a stage-frightened twelve-year-old.)

"C'mon, let's step inside this restaurant then." He takes my cart and pushes it to the entrance of a place called Archie's. Noticing that I'm sort of shocked he would just leave Mickey there as he holds open the door for me, he moves his face so close to mine that I can feel the warmth of his breath and remarks, "On my life, nothing will happen to your cart."

I step inside Archie's.


	2. Getting Acquainted (Sort of)

**Chapter 2**

As soon as I'm inside, I feel a rush of warm, yet cool air. The place smells _fantastic._ Salad, bread, fruit, hot soup, cocoa. It smells so good I can nearly taste it. To be honest, though I pass this place very frequently, I have never been inside. Obviously I haven't the money for a nice sophisticated place like this.

The nice-haired Doctor tells me to order whatever I want and that he will pay for everything. Normally, I don't allow strangers to be that generous to me, but, considering it's New Year's Eve, I let him get away with treating me. I order a cheesy steak Panini, a bowl of fresh clam chowder, hot cheese buns (for the both of us, of course), and chips, my absolute favorite.

After the Doctor orders, we take our food and find an available table. He chooses one right by the window so I can keep an eye on Mickey. "So, tell me 'bout yourself, Rose," he demands, with his mouth adorably stuffed with buns (how can someone pull off an adorable full mouth?).

"Well," I respond. I take a quick moment to think about some things about me. Awkwardly, nothing comes to mind. "Ehm, I'm really nothing special. No job, no house. That's me." I jokingly give a thumbs-up to lighten the mood. He doesn't buy it.

"How'd you lose your job?" he questions. Oh, god, he's getting into personal business. Okay, I'm starting to dislike this conversation now…

Nevertheless, I answer him honestly. "Oh, it's so cliché it's embarrassing really. You know, had a relationship with the boss, things got intense then messy. He laid me off, plain and simple. The house soon followed after the job… I just didn't have the money. Both my parents are dead – my mum quite recently actually – and I have no siblings. There was no one to turn to. So, here I am. Wandering the streets of London. A homeless beggar." I say the last part with a scorn or hiss almost. I have no idea why in the world I'm being so open with this man I know nothing about. I guess he just has that trustworthy feel to him.

"Well, that's enough jib jab about me." I say after an awkwardly prolonged silence. "How about you, Doctor? Who are you?"

I almost wish I'd never asked. He goes on and on about time travel and space and a red (or was it blue?) box called a TARDIS I believe. Daleks, cyberpeople, Face of Poe, a planet called Gallifrey… it gets dull after the sixth description of his time machine (and, for the record, I believe absolutely _none _of his story, thank ya very much). My mind drifts as he rambles on, and I fiddle with my chips. Even though this kind stranger is handsome and charming, I really just wish I was practically anywhere else right now.

"So would you like to?"

"Huh?" He suddenly catches my attention, but I honestly don't know what he's chirpin' about.

"Me, you, time travel, TARDIS, eh?" The hopeful look in his big puppy eyes just kills me because I don't know how to respond to that.

"Well, ehm, could you tell me about it again, perhaps?" I try to act like in innocent girl who simply has bad hearing. My hand reaches up to tuck blond hair behind my red-from-the-cold ears. Just my luck, my sleeve falls down my wrist as I hold it up and reveals my fresh cuts. Instantly, I cover them up again, hoping the Doctor didn't notice them. He did. Of course.

Thank goodness, he says nothing. But that's also the bad thing; he says nothing. _Absolutely nothing._ I would rather have him yapping about how I should never self harm and how I'm young and have a hopeful future if I follow my destiny yada yada yada. But not a word escapes his lips. He stares me straight in the eyes, not moving a muscle. This gets my extremely uncomfortable, and I start to fidget nervously. This smooth doctor man is getting on my nerves.

Right when I'm about to thank him for the food and leave, he reaches across the table to put his hand on my shoulder and says, "Rose, I want to show you something. Your life will never be the same, and you'll never look at the universe the same way again. But you'll love it. Oh, how you'll_ love it._" A goofy grin paints his slim face. Soon enough, a serious expression creeps back on. "Follow me. If you're willing." The Doctor pushes himself out of his chair and walks to the exit. I follow him, because now I'm curious to see what all this talk is about.

Grabbing Mickey tightly by the handle, the Doctor swings my cart around and pushes it down the sidewalk. He has a very brisk pace, and I struggle to keep up. The way he turns corners is very sudden. Occasionally, I lose track of where I am with him. Soon enough, we come to a stop in front of a big blue box that reads "Police Box". I'm panting from the fast-paced hike I just experienced. The Doctor pushes Mickey aside and steps up to the box. A key is slid into place, and with a _click_, he pushes open the door to this mysterious box (funny how he pushes it even though it says to pull… huh).

Turning to me, he says, "All-righty then, come on in," and gestures for me to step inside the box.

I laugh a single "Hah!" and then remark, "No way I'm gettin' in that snog box with you, mate!"

He's taken aback. "It – it's not a _snog box!_"

"Well, what else could it be? It only has enough room for one person! Well, unless you're _that _kind of person…"

I can see now that the Doctor doesn't like it when people play jokes on him. "Wait, wha- NO of course not! Just come in. Everything will make sense. Trust me; I'm a doctor." With that last cliché statement, he steps inside. Anyone who knows me is aware that I can never ever turn down a dare, so, therefore, I walk cautiously into the box.

Then I run out of the box.

I walk around the outside of the box.

Then back in again.

Out the box.

Farther in the box.

For the last time, I go outside the box and feel its walls up and down. I can't believe what I'm seeing. I just can't. It's impossible, and impossible things just don't happen. I stand outside the entrance of the blue box. "Doctor!" I yell inside. "W-what in the world is this?!" (You're probably wondering why I would have to yell inside a box that fits a single person, but hang on a sec. I'm nearly there.)

"This, Rose Tyler, is my dear old TARDIS," he answers. "That's Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, and, well as you can now see obviously, it's bigger on the inside!"


	3. The Tardis

**Chapter 3**

"Bigger on the inside…? What?" I'm confused beyond imagination.

"Well, how else should I put it, Miss Rose… wait what's your last name again?"

I answer, "It's Tyler. Rose Tyler."

"Rose Tyler," he says with a smile. "What a nice name. Anyhow, my time machine is quite a looker, if I do say so myself." The Doctor's hand strokes what looks like a control panel in the center.

The inside of the Tardis is really quite enormous. There are little peculiar holes on the wall and, pointing to them, I ask, "What are those hole things for?"

"No clue!" Then he laughs and throws a switch, which causes the TARDIS to experience an earthquake-like trembling. I grab the nearest railing to prevent myself from falling. A loud _whooshing_ sound fills the area, and I suddenly feel the sensation of acceleration. The box must have wheels or something. "Where would you like to go, Rose?"

"Um, back to Archie's would be nice," I say cluelessly.

"Come on, have some imagination!" He seems so carefree when he talks that I nearly envy him. However, he is an insane mad man with a snog box, so I won't be turning green over him any day soon.

I don't know how to respond, so he answers himself for me (how generous of him). "How 'bout New York? The first New York, of course, not New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York, though they have inns there."

The first thing I think is, _You idiot, we're in London in a box! There's no way we're getting to New York in this thing! And what was that garbage about a New New New York? _What I actually say is, "New York sounds fine, whatever."

Another switch here, another lever there. The Doctor asks me to hold down a button on the other side of the control panel, but I'm too afraid to let go of the railing. I vigorously shake my head (oh, god, that sounds so childish now). Then he gives me those big eyes and that cheesy smirk that say, _Chicken? Well I triple-dog-dare you. _

Finally, I practically crawl over to the panel, after a dramatic huff, obviously. The button is small and green, and I hold it down until the Doctor says to release it. Suddenly, it feels like we jolt to a stop. Swinging his paper thin body over the railing, the Doctor gallops to the doors, pull them open, and says, "After you." I scramble to the door and hop out. The first thing I see is the empire state building. Wait a second…

_We're actually in New York. _My mouth drops open unconsciously, and all I manage to say is, "H-how?"

"Remember when I was telling you about myself?" he questions. "I'm a time traveler, and this is my traveling machine." He pats the TARDIS affectionately.

I chuckle. "Right. How could I forget?" Grabbing my hand, the Doctor pulls me to a fountain in an open area. I over hear people talking, and I find their American accents quite appealing.

"So, you're a time traveler then?"

"Well, I'm actually a time_lord _from the planet Gallifrey." I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off. "Yes, yes, I know. I'm an alien. Gotta problem with that?"

"Well," I start lightly, "that's definitely not something you hear every day! But sure… it's fine… I guess. How come you look human?"

"How come humans look timelord?"

"Fair point."

I gently put my fingers in the water of the fountain. The water is bone-chilling cold. I rub my poor red fingers when I pull them out. "Oh, that water's freeeezing."

"C'mon then, let's go buy you a pair of gloves," the Doctor retorts. "I bet you didn't think you'd be glove shopping in New York this morning!" We laugh, and I follow him to a petite little shop. There, he treats me (once again) to a pair of gloves. The next hour or so consists of us wandering around New York looking in the little shop windows and _ooh_ingand_ ah_ing. Walking past a giant clock, I read that it says it's 12:45.

"My!" I exclaim. "It's 2014! It totally slipped my mind!"

"Um, actually, remember how I said the TARDIS was a time machine?" He scratches his head adorably.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, since it's New Year – technically – where we are should be packed. You know, the ball drops and such. Well, I didn't want it to be so hectic, so I merely brought us back exactly three days. It's actually December 29."

"Oh. Right." I'm shocked.

"Yeahh."

"Well then. Ehm, what do we do now?" It's plain to see the gradual decline of excitement in the conversation.

"How bout I take you somewhere that's actually interesting?" he replies.

We return to the TARDIS, and, after much "time vortex" turbulence, I step outside to see that I'm standing in a large white building. The Doctor comes after me and turns me around to face a glass window which covers an entire wall. A shimmering crystal waterfall is right outside the glass. "Welcome," he says professionally, "to Midnight."


End file.
